Sunday, 12 December 2010

In Which There is Shakespeare

I spent most of Saturday being moderately lazy - fair bit of reading, some gift wrapping (Tybalt "helped" with that, so the recipients will get some bonus cat-hairs and, in at least one case, tooth marks) I shall have to finish the wrapping and then, on Monday, make a trip to the Post Office to get all the parcels which have to go by post sent off.

This year, I have done quite well as far as the 'remembering to buy things which don't weigh too much if they will have to go by post' side of things go, not so well on the 'buy things which are nice reguar shapes and thus easy to wrap' side. Oh well.

I then spent the evening at the theatre, to see The Merry Wives of Windsor at Bath. The production is one which was originally at the Globe, and is now touring. It had a big cast, and was performed in period Elizabethan dress and with it's own minstrels gallery (on top of the half-timbered house which formed the main set). There were 5 or 6 minstrels who appeared to be playing period instruments - some of them, at least. I am not sure whether the kettle-drums and triangle were common in Elizabethan times, but one person was playing what I think was a rebec, another a hautboy, and another instrument which I coldn't identify - a very long-necked string instrument.

I enjoyed myself, although there was a lot of over-acting going on, which gave the whole thing a somewhat pantomimic feel - with touches of Blackadder and a soupcon of 'Allo 'Allo.

The theatre was pretty full, and the play enthusiastically recived.(although in the case of the 2 ladies sitting immediately behind me, I think that part of their enthusiasm must be attributed to the fact that they had clearly been enjoying a drink or 6 first, to the point where a man wering tights was hysterically funny....)

Tonight I am going back the the theatre for some candlelit music. And also trying to remember how to set the video recorder, as I see thaey are showing Ptrick Stewart's Macbeth tonight on BBC4.